Arrival

Thursday morning 6.15 am the BA 145 flight from London landed at Zia Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Tired after a bumpy flight (which really made me remember exactly why I hate flying) I stumbled out onto Bangladeshi soil. Immigration went smoothly and my luggage arrived as well. I was picked up by my colleague Anna in a green Mitsubishi jeep that I soon will have to learn how to maneuver on the crazy streets of Dhaka. Please keep your fingers crossed both for me and the rest of the population of Dhaka when I start driving…Thursday was dominated by sleeping. Fridays and Saturdays are the weekend here and I have spent the last couple of days just relaxing and starting to find my way around the neighborhood locating food markets and places to buy daily necessities.

Bangladesh is currently ruled by an interim government who took power after elections failed to take place as scheduled in January. The country is still under emergency rules. This is noticeable in particular by the police and military presence on the streets. Cars and people are regularly being stopped and checked by the RAB (Rapid Action Battalion), men and women all dressed in black who looks like some sort of Ninja force. But the political situation otherwise seems to be calm and it is easy to move around in the area where I live.

Today (Sunday) is Eid, a Muslim holiday, and we have the day off. Will start working on Monday, really looking forward to that. Hope to update this blog with some pictures the upcoming week.

Take care!